Product Info

Studio

Paramount Pictures

Director

Steven Caple Jr.

Genre

Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Rated

PG-13

Theatrical Release Date (NA)

Jun 9, 2023

Film Length

2hr 7min

Purchase From

The seventh installment of the Transformers movies, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, feels like a more complete film compared to its predecessors. It’s mixed with the right amount of action, story, and number of characters and feels like the humans involved have a more solid role. After five years since the last Transformers movie, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts comes as a strong title for the summer.

Welcome to the ‘90s

© Paramount Pictures

At the beginning of the film, viewers witness a conflict between the Maximals and Terrorcons, both giant robotic aliens. Maximals are shaped like animals (e.g., gorillas, hawks, and cheetahs). Terrorcons look like humanoids with characteristics such as sharp teeth and dark-colored armor. Additionally, they are the antagonists that do not align with anyone and are looking for the Transwarp Key, a valuable item that can adjust space and time. Their goal is to retrieve the key for their master, Unicron, a planet-sized, planet-eating alien, so it can warp throughout the galaxy to feast. Sound familiar? Marvel fans should know that Unicron resembles Galactus, another planet-eating monster.

When the film introduces Scourge, voiced by Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones, X-Men: Days of Future Past), the leader of the Terrorcons, the giant robot gives off a spooky vibe with its glowing eyes and wicked-looking parts visible in the dark behind the trees. As it slowly reveals itself, you can tell you don’t want to mess with this robot. The Maximals were able to get away from Scourge and get off their planet before it was eaten by Unicron, escaping to planet Earth and taking the Transwarp Key with them. There, they split the key into two and go into hiding for centuries. There are a lot of new vocabulary terms (e.g., Terrorcons, Maximals, etc.) that the audience will have a hard time keeping up with if they are not familiar with the history of Transformers.

The film then timeskips to 1994, a different era than previous films. It makes it feel like this Transformers film is a prequel rather than a sequel. It’s hard to figure out if the purpose of the film is to connect the dots to the 2007 film or if this is a complete reboot. Regardless, the film could do a better job introducing the history of the Transformers, especially the Autobots, for newcomers.

With the movie set back in the ‘90s, viewers who grew up in that era will experience nostalgia. Hip-hop tracks by artists such as LL Cool J, the geometry pattern style attire, Air Jordans, and references to Nintendo and Sega games will give them something to smile about. There is one goof-up in regards to paying homage to the classic Nintendo Game Boy. A child named Kris says he’s having difficulties beating Bowser on his Game Boy. In 1994, Bowser did not exist on the Game Boy until 1999 in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe. Oops!

It’s All Coming Together

© Paramount Pictures

In the previous Transformers films, the human roles were lackluster and sometimes sexualized (see Megan Fox). However, in this one, it’s the opposite, focusing mainly on two humans: Noah Diaz, played by Anthony Ramos (Hamilton, The Bad Guys) and Elena Wallace, played by Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah, Project Power).

Elena is a museum research intern who makes a discovery while scanning an eagle statue artifact that holds one of the pieces to the Transwarp Key. Unexpectedly breaking, the key sets off a light that only alien robots can detect. This alerts the Terrorcons but also the nearby robots in the New York area, the Autobots.

Autobots, the opposite of the Terrorcons, are well known to those who are familiar with the popular Transformers series from the ‘80s and the movies since 2007. And before you ask, yes, Peter Cullen returns to voice their leader, Optimus Prime, a role he has had since the ‘80s. Additional Autobots, such as Bumblee also make a return to the big screen. Anyway, all the Autobots gather to find a way to get the key in order to return to their home in space, having been stranded on Earth for years. Unfortunately, Optimus Prime doesn’t go much further with that in terms of their motivation. Fans may want to know more of the Autobots’ history, but they’re out of luck here. So, if not in this film, when?

The second human, Noah, a military veteran who’s handy with electronics, is struggling to land a job as a security guard. He takes a side job to earn quick cash to help with his family’s financial issues and his little brother’s health issues. The side job involves stealing a Porsche that’s been parked in a public garage for weeks. Though he successfully breaks into the vehicle, his world turns upside down because the car itself is an Autobot named Mirage. Mirage takes Noah to meet with the other Autobots and persuades him to help them get the key at the museum.

By the time Elena and Noah meet up, the dreadful Terrorcons arrive. However, the Autobots enter as well and it becomes a slugfest in an open field at a park, avoiding city landscapes. WIth the Terrorcons roaming Earth, the Maximals return to the field to stop the dreadful Unicron from devouring Earth.

The first appearance of Mirage presents the robot as hysterical and highly influenced by the ‘90s hip-hop era. The audience will gravitate towards his personality. While Noah isn’t too fond of meeting his new “giant friends”, he eventually warms up to them, moreso with Mirage. Elena doesn’t get as attached to the Autobots compared to Noah, but her role to help find the keys is still significant. Still, she is treated more like a sidekick to Noah. Optimus Prime, when first shown, is apprehensive on teaming up with humans to get the Transwarp Key. Over time, viewers will see similarities between him and Noah in terms of how they both want to help their own kind, but as things get rough, they put their personal goals aside to help each other.

The voice actors do a splendid job. We know that Peter Cullen is amazing as Optimus Prime, but Pete Davidson as Mirage, Ron Perlman as Optimus Primal, Peter Dinklage as the antagonist Scourge, along with many more, bring strong performances as well. The amount of time for the humans is just right and any more would have diluted the human element in this giant robot war.

More Than Meets the Eye

© Paramount Pictures

The visual effects of Rise of the Beasts are top notch. The mechanical effects on each giant robot are fantastic, especially the Maximals with the mouth movements. Yes, there are explosions but not as many compared to past Transformers films. The film also has a small handful of jump scares, but none of them are horror-flick levels of extreme.

The majority of the action takes place in wide-open areas in South America, avoiding cities and humans running amok. Not having to deal with those other elements helps, preventing audience overstimulation for the most part. No worries: There’s enough action to go around, and it doesn’t take away from the story that much.

When the film goes into its climactic battle, the audience will be drawn in. There are actually fewer main characters to keep track of compared to the past movies, which is a relief as some scenes tend to get overwhelmed with enemy soldiers attacking from every angle. There are a few great scenes that involve both the humans and Autobots, making the battle even better. Without going into spoilers, the audience will surely enjoy how things are wrapped up before the credits roll. Director Steven Caple, Jr. (Creed II, The Land) did a superb job balancing between action and story building for a movie mostly about giant robots fighting against each other.

Regarding music, many films usually can’t pull this off, but Rise of the Beasts implements music scores into its scenes in a way that makes it feel like there’s an actual boombox playing on the field. If you remember tracks like “Mama Said Knock You Out”, you’ll enjoy the vocal tracklist the movie offers. The instrumental tracks are dark and energetic with heavy beats to match the film’s intensity when there’s not a lyric-based song playing.

The Final Rollout

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts emerges from the franchise’s five year hibernation and delivers a solid action movie that opens up doors for potential sequels. Its balance of humans and giant robots work well with a dependable cast. Transformers fans, roll out.

An early screening provided for this review. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts opens in theaters on June 9, 2023. Fans can visit the official website for showings.